ARI celebrates ten years of Middle East operations

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Aer Rianta International-Middle East (ARI-ME) celebrated its tenth anniversary in fine style on Monday night, with a gala dinner for some 250 guests in Bahrain, home of Bahrain Duty Free

Aer Rianta International-Middle East (ARI-ME) celebrated its tenth anniversary in fine style on Monday night, with a gala dinner for some 250 guests in Bahrain, home of Bahrain Duty Free. The Irish airports group has been involved in duty-free in the region for around 20 years, since it helped set up Dubai Duty Free in 1983, although the creation of ARI-ME came in 1993 as it set about expanding its activities in the region.

The group took the opportunity on the evening to thank its long-standing partners in the region, particularly ARI-ME chairman Abdulla Buhindi who has been instrumental in driving the business forward. ARI director-general Eamon Foley said Buhindi's input had been invaluable in developing and building the partnership over the years. The Irish minister for trade and commerce Michael Ahern noted ARI's global impact on its market sector and said it was at the forefront of airport duty-free retailing in the Middle East, and a strong example of a successful Irish company overseas.

There were also special presentations to some of the executives who have contributed to ARI-ME's growth into a $250m plus operator, including John Sutcliffe, Maurice Burke and Michael Doporto.